$37.3 million school budget aired

Saturday

Mar 22, 2014 at 12:01 AM

DARTMOUTH — School Business Administrator James Kiely presented the draft district budget of $37.3 million for Fiscal Year 2015 at the March 11 meeting of the Dartmouth School Committee. The proposed FY15 budget is a 2.4 percent increase over the FY14 budget of $36.4 million.

CHRISTINA STYAN

DARTMOUTH — School Business Administrator James Kiely presented the draft district budget of $37.3 million for Fiscal Year 2015 at the March 11 meeting of the Dartmouth School Committee. The proposed FY15 budget is a 2.4 percent increase over the FY14 budget of $36.4 million.

The spending plan follows the District Strategic Improvement Plan, which covers Instructional Core, Cultural Core and a Resource Core.

The Instructional Core aligns with instructional strategies and materials within and across grade levels. Budget recommendations include two new elementary library media specialists for $103,448; two new teacher assistants for $34,160; and mandated tutoring for $15,000. The two full-time media specialists would be for the Potter and DeMello Schools.

The proposed instructional budget of $28,427,799 is up $514,948 or 1.8 percent over the FY14 budget of $17,912,851.

It was projected there will be a savings in special education tutoring of $94,167 with several students leaving the district. The FY14 tuitions budget was $1.1 million, and the FY15 projection is $1,008,249, a decrease of 8.5 percent.

The school district will see a large increase in heating expenses with a new natural gas contract, Mr. Kiely indicated. Last year's FY14 maintenance and utilities budget was $3.06 million, and he projects an increase in natural gas costs alone of $253,596.

A second shift security monitor for $15,000 at DHS results in a total maintenance budget of $3,345,821, a $25,784,000 increase of 9.3 percent over this year.

Recommendations include an additional savings of $48,114 due to a staff reduction due to declining enrollments. A fourth grade teacher is retiring and Superintendent Riley is eliminating that position.

The Culture Core addresses developing strong working relationships with families and community partners through the middle school afterschool programs, funded at $10,000. Planning utilizes positive behavioral instruction and supports in a consistent manner across the district to create a safe environment for learning.

Proposed FY15 budget changes in administration represent a 13.3 percent change over FY14 from $932,823 to $1,057,115; a $124,292 increase. Other Services budget lines were up 1.8 percent.